Fontmell Close access problems

No doubt you were wondering what this is. It’s the mud that residents of Fontmell Close and Bridle Close have to cope with to access their homes.

A temporary road made of large plastic panels has been installed across the Lower Field to provide access to the houses that are still unreachable due to the sinkhole (geological term ‘crown hole’).

As it is now expected that remedial work will take at least 6 months, it has been decided that the plastic panels are not sufficient and that an actual road with a hardcore base will be excavated and installed. We are assured that this will also be temporary and that the grass will be reinstated when Fontmell Close is eventually reopened.

Access track on the eastern side of the Lower Field

The failure of the plastic panels is all too evident from the photos – they tend to sink into the ground with the result that access for residents is a sea of mud. No doubt it wasn’t helped by the fact that nearly an inch of rain that fell over last Wednesday and Thursday nights. The second photo shows shows how the vehicle access road follows the eastern edge of the lower field and the mud that results. The installation of the temporary road mentioned above cannot come too soon.

There is no pedestrian access from Seymour Road to the houses beyond the collapse.